Night Wing
by Jeslyn and Besa-CHAN
Summary: We have noticed that Heero often forgets to be shot soon after being shot. We suck at summaries. Please R&R.
1. Prologue

_Central Park_ was beautiful at night.  There was a certain serenity in the way the moonlight played upon countless leaves and worn park benches that made this park the eye of the storm of human activity that was ___New York City__.  Beyond the trees were glimpses of the lights of the city: passing cars, skyscraper lights, bike reflectors and taxi signs.  It could almost be romantic._

_            One presence hovered, focused as a hungry panther stalking its prey.  The bloodlust was upon him.  Every sense was enhanced – he saw every turning leaf in the darkness, heard every rustle in the path, caught the faintest whiff of lilac perfume on the air – and every need in his soul burned.  He was hungry, thirsty, longing…every breath came quick and silent, but his blood couldn't carry the air.  He was single-mindedly scanning the trees for the flash of a lilac dress.  She had gotten away from him once already.  As he stalked, he absently recalled the events of the evening: the moonlit "stroll" into the park, out of sight – her laugh echoing in the stillness and his hunger.  She had looked up at him, expecting a kiss…and saw his bare fangs and frigid cobalt eyes.  She ran._

_            But not far.  A tiny rush of wind was all that could have revealed his move, darting after the glimpse of gaudy purple fabric in the trees.  Target sighted.  He was on her before she knew it, sinking his needle-sharp teeth into her slender neck.  At first, she struggled feebly, and he reached into her mind, calming her, making her still.  For a moment he started at the lack of resistance.  That surprised him.  Her mind was weak, but beyond that…she wanted to be caught.  Disgusting.  Well.  He wasn't picky.  The hot blood flowed into his mouth and down his throat.  It poured blessed life into him, body and soul.  He became slowly calmer, time slowed to normal, his breath came more easily and the glow in his eyes dimmed.  He didn't take enough to hurt her, only enough to keep himself alive – the bare minimum.  And then he let her go.  Locking her dazed eyes with his, he erased her memory of everything after the dance.  He left her on a bench by the street, hoping a policeman would get to her first.  He wondered why he cared.  He glanced back once, feeling again the touch of her mind, only for a moment, and wondered what it would be like to be the prey.  He couldn't imagine it.  Feeling vaguely upset, he walked back to his apartment._

                        Heero arrived at the apartment in a horrible mood.  His awful lavender tux was miraculously unwrinkled and unstained by his earlier excursion.  He looked at his reflection, silently disgusted, and turned narrowed eyes on his roommate as he came cavorting down the stairs.

            "Hey, Heero," Duo said cheerfully as Heero shut the door.  "How was the dance?"  His violet eyes twinkled with amusement.

            "Hn."

            Duo laughed nervously.  "All right, so the girl had the I.Q. of a lima bean.  But it can't have been that bad!"

            Heero gave Duo a wordless glare, gave a barely perceptible shake of his head, and marched up to his room, slamming its door.  Shuddering, Duo pulled a wooden chair away from the table and sat down with a thump.  Just as he was considering getting up to get himself a Coke, there came a terse knock on the door.  With a martyred sigh, Duo stood and opened the door.  _Nobody there!  Tentatively, he looked around.  A shadow moved within the shadows around his building like a leaping flame within a fire.  There was a small white envelope sitting on the step.  Blinking, Duo bent to pick it up.  There were no marks on the front, so he turned it over.  It was sealed with black wax – a raven carrying a black iris.  Shrugging, Duo carried it inside and called up the stairs, "Hey!  Heero!  I think I've got some mail for you!"  Duo contemplated the seal.  _Hmm.___  Looks like we're going to Vegas._

            Talia woke in a cold sweat.  She broke the surface of her turbulent dreams like she was smashing through a window.  She sat up, trembling, unable to move the images from her mind.  _So cold. _It had been so real. _So very cold. _Giving in, she surrendered to her tears. Eventually, she fell into an exhausted sleep. This time it was blessedly dreamless.

Author's note: Jeslyn wanted me to add an author's note here, but couldn't figure out how to put it after my cool border thingy (which won't even show up in the html version), so I added it for her.

            -Besasama


	2. What is the Night World?

Authors' Notes: Um…, since we are posting this in the Gundam Wing archive, both of us felt it necessary to explain the concepts of the Night World as we see them… or at least as we intend to use them. Any one sho happens to be reading these novels currently should be advised: SPOILERS CONTAINED IN THIS AUTHORS' NOTE

1) And I quote : "The Night World isn't a place" It is an underground society/world government which is ruled by the elders of four races other than humans. These are the witches, lamia (or born/family vampires), made vampires, and the shapeshifters. The Night World counsel has set forth many laws that are meant to protect the secrecy of the organization. Among these are proscriptions against telling humans of the Night World, and falling in love with humans ( as if they could really control that). Anyway, the penalty for breaking these rules is a rather gruesome death. 

2) At the time when we join our story, the Night World has split more or less into two factions. Circle Daybreak, "the damned Daybreakers" who want "to teach all races how to live in peace and harmony." They're really not as nice as they sound. The Daybreakers are led by Thierry Descoudres, the first made vampire, and his soulmate (I'll get into that later), Lady Hannah Snow, who is incidentally, human. The Night World counsel was led until recently by Hunter Redfern, though no clear leadership has risen since his death at the hands of the second Wild Power. About that, The Wild Powers are four young people prophesied to avert the end of the world. Three of the four have joined Circle Daybreak, the fourth is yet to be found. Just previous to the last Winter Solstice, the Witches left the Night World in reaction to the murder of their oldest and most revered leader Edgith Harmen, the Crone of all Witches. Leadership of the Witches then fell to Mother Cybelle and the Maiden, Aradia. 

3) The Soulmate Principle is that every person has just one other person that they are destined to be with. Umm.. not much to say about this except that it is a force that is very hard to ignore, if not impossible to, and one that draws the two individuals towards each other with a ruthlessness that is often scary. While sometimes the first several meetings are characterized by sparks, pink hazes or other dramatic side effects, this is not always the case and the bond is often only signified by an unusual awareness of the other persons' mental and emotional state, and extreme attraction. 

I hope for now that that is all we need to impart upon you. If you have any questions feel free to send them in a review. We will answer them in the next chapter if we can.

The Prologue should be up by the end of tonight, and hopefully chapter one will be up by tomorrow afternoon. 

Thanks for reading, please review and enjoy.

Ja ne.

Jes and Besa. 


	3. Chapter 1

A/N: OK for the record neither Besa nor I is Catholic.  So, if we screw this up entirely, please email us or include it in your review (Hint, hint). 

Disclaimer: WE DON'T OWN IT!  Uh…either of "it"s?  Talia is ours as is Huliana.  Don't sue us: we have _no_ money.  Seriously-we just blew it all in Hawaii for our senior trip.

Chapter 1 

It was nearly eight in the evening when Talia cautiously emerged from her room.  She was vaguely aware that Lady Hannah had come up to check on her, but in her distressed state she did not remember much of the encounter. 

Talia peered out her door, and having determined them to be empty, crept down the halls to Aradia's room.  She knocked timidly on the door then entered, sensing the witch's presence in the room.  As Talia entered, Aradia's unseeing eyes focused on her with uncanny accuracy. 

"You had a vision," the Maiden whispered in a voice that spoke of the sylvan glades over which her namesake had ruled. 

"I… think so, but I'm unsure…"  Talia murmured, the tears nearly flowing again. 

"How can you be unsure?  You either did or you didn't."

"It was… different this time… more… real.  I wasn't myself.  Someone else.  I saw what they saw…heard what they heard… felt what they felt…It was a hunter, and while I felt disgusted by their attitude, I also felt a kinship, an answering in my own heart.  I… understood him."

"It was a man?"   
  "No not really.  It was a boy who is older than he should be.  Like he had seen too much to remain innocent.  He was still immature in so _many _ways though.  He was like… an Old Soul in reverse."  She stopped then, too overcome by the reliving of the memory to continue- it was there again: the adrenaline of the hunt, the thrill of the catch, the sweet warmth of the blood as flowed over her lips, teeth and tongue…Talia tore her thoughts away with a physical shudder.  She had no desire to relive such a horrible event.

"Was he aware of your presence?"  Aradia's cool voice was soft, cautious, like that of one who was attempting to approach a wounded animal.  The caution was just what it took to calm Talia's rampaging nerves and cause her to collect her thoughts. 

Still, her voice shook as she responded, "No, I don't…I don't think so…there was a moment…at the end…I thought maybe…but…No."  It was final.  With sudden clarity she _knew_ that he had not been aware of her- felt something out of place, maybe.  But _he had not known she was there._

Aradia withdrew her probing gaze, a clear indication that she had gotten what she wanted from the young woman in front of her.  The withdrawal was not callous, was in fact welcome, but it hurt none the less.  One did not like to feel like a tool, no matter how useful. 

As Talia turned to leave, Aradia placed a hand on her shoulder, and her expression softened lightly, "If you have another vision- come back.  I cannot think this is coincidence.  I'll be here should you need me."

Holding back her tears, Talia nodded and left, going to seek comfort in the only place she knew.

The small chapel was dimly lit, with only candles to provide illumination.  There was a faint trace of incense in the air, but it was not cloying as it so often was in many of the larger churches.  The simple wooden alter was surrounded by a simple wooden rail, and over it hung a simple wooden cross.  The only decoration in the entire building were the small, but intricate stained glass windows, which during the day would likely cause color to dance across the sanctuary. 

Approaching the rail, Talia reached out and brushed her fingers across the warm wood.  She stood there a few moments, contemplating the smooth textures of the well-worn and well-cared-for wood.  Silently, she opened the gate to the sanctuary, feeling a warm, welcoming tingle in her fingertips as she did so. 

Still silent, she walked to the alter and knelt, hands on knees, breathing deep and even-a stark contrast to the emotional turmoil that had driven her to the safety of the sanctuary.  Feeling safe at last, she allowed the tears free reign, and they coursed down her pallid cheeks in a scalding torrent. 

The prayers came unbidden to her lips, second nature by now "_Kyrie eleison"_ _Lord have mercy.  _The Lord's Prayer was next comforting in its familiarity, "Our Father, who art in heaven…deliver us from evil…"  Soon other prayers came, bringing in their wake comfort. 

"The Lord is my shepherd;

I shall not want.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside the still waters.

He leads me in the paths of righteousness

For His name's sake."  The pain and fear slowly drained from her body.

"Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 

I will fear no evil;

For You _are_ with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me."  A warm glow suffused her body. 

"You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil;

My cup runs over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

All the days of my life;

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever."  

The glow faded, leaving in its wake a feeling of strength.  She had the Lord's support.  She had nothing left to fear. 

She crossed herself once and stood, ready to leave the safety and comfort of the sanctuary.  Standing there, staring at her with wide eyes was a young priest.  She bowed to him slightly and the walked to the exit where Huliana was waiting for her, dark eyes shining with concern.  Talia nodded to her best friend and gave a small reassuring smile- together they left the small church. 

Heero sat in stony silence on a bus bench in front of the Bellagio.  Even the other potential passengers refused to sit near him, preferring to stand despite the sweltering heat.  Like clockwork, the music came over the loud speakers behind him, signaling the start of the fountains' performance, and a sudden influx of tourists.  And like clockwork, a redheaded vampire in sunglasses sat beside him.  The unknown vampire passed Heero a manila (?) envelope which he took without comment. 

"You accept the job, then" the voice of the stranger was cultured.  Upon careful inspection, he appeared about thirty, but among vampires, one never knew. 

"Of course."

"The details are all in their, as well as the information to acquire your first payment.  Good hunting," The man's smile was feral. 

Heero did not open the envelope until he was at the loft, tearing it open with one efficient motion.

The target's name: Thierry Descoudres.

A/N: Ummm…Sorry for the delay.  And any inconsistencies.  Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please review- we're rather desperate.  Also, if you like Inu-Yasha or Night World please stop by our other profile and read our other work- we're in our own favorite authors. 

Thanks and Ja ne.


	4. Chapter 2

Yay!  I finished the chapter!  A few things to keep in mind:

1. We still don't own _Gundam Wing or __Night World_

2. We're still broke.

3. If you're reading the _Night World series, be advised that this contains some spoilers._

Enjoy!  Also, PLEASE REVIEW!!!!

Thanks.

Chapter 2

_Ding!_  **BLAT. ** _Ding!_  **Blat**.

_Ugh!  Stupid bananas._

_Ding! _**BLAT.**

_You scan NOW, or I'll make _sure_ you go extinct…_

_Ding! _**Blat.  BLAT.  SCU invalid.  Enter correct code.**

Duo sighed, then picked up the P.A. receiver.

"Manager to register 5, please.  Manager to register 5."  Duo smiled hopefully at the impatient customer.  She glared, adjusted the screaming toddler on her shoulder, and resumed glaring.  Duo began to sweat.  He could have sworn eternal gratitude to the wonderful possessor of the clean crop of black hair and sympathetic violet eyes gliding his way.

"Hi, Hilde!  How's it going?"

"Duo!  The bananas _again_?"

Duo studied his shoes.  There was a little bit of scuff on the left one, so he'd have to shine them when he got back to the apartment.  He heard a ding and looked up.

**Bananas: $6.97**

Duo quietly retreated to the end of the counter and began bagging.

"$6.97?  The sign said $4.99!"

Hilde smiled indulgently at the customer.

"That was per pound, ma'am."

The customer was livid.  Her child began screaming even louder, kicking his tiny feet into his mother's chest.  _I'll bet that hurts._  "Per POUND?  How can you possibly get away with charging THAT MUCH for banana's?"  Hilde's indulgent smile began to crust over.

"You see, ma'am, besides the fact that we are in the middle of the desert and far from anywhere we can grow bananas, they've got some kind of fungus plague in the banana groves.  They might even go extinct."

The customer was not convinced.  "Take them off, then."  Hilde's smile was definitely about to crack.  She pushed void.  Duo shook his head as he finished filling the bags, then saw the customer off.

Hilde shook her head at Duo, who had unfortunately already used up the pretense of studying his feet.  Her smile was gone, but there was a slightly repulsive compassion in her purple eyes.  "Duo, what are you doing here?  Don't you like this job?"  He nodded dishonestly, trying to look mildly ashamed.  "I _know_ you can do this!  Duo, you're a computer genius!  Are you honestly telling me you can't work a foolproof cash register?"  He wanted to remark that "foolproof" meant that only fools could use it.  Instead, he said,

"No, that's not it.  It's just…my heart's not really in it today.  I'm sorry."

Hilde gave a muffled sigh.  "Oh well.  Hey, look, it's 7:00, so why don't you just clock out for today, ok?  We can try again tomorrow."  Duo nodded, causing his long brown braid to bob up and down, catching on the knot in his work apron.  "See ya'."  _Good thing she doesn't know about my night job…_

As Duo walked back out, the Strip was just beginning to light up in the distance.  He considered phoning Heero for a ride, but decided he was probably busy setting up their new apartment.  Besides, it was a pretty evening.  To one side lay the city of Las Vegas, an overwhelming morass of lights, sound, and the rise and fall of a thousand lost souls trying their luck.  To the other side, across a vacant lot with some scattered weeds and a boarded up gas station stretched the desert, resplendent and orange in the setting sun.  His stomach rumbled.  Hungrily, he gazed across the desert, at the open, twilit sky.  Duo decided that the apartment could wait, and turned down the street, toward the desert.  Now was the time to hunt.

Huliana was in a panic.  An hour ago, everything had been, well, what passed for normal at the Black Rose manor: they had been sitting down to a nice, tense dinner with some of the most powerful leaders and spies of the Night World (all of them, as usual, feeling pretty powerless), when Talia had complained of a headache and retreated to her room.  Now she had disappeared, tearing out of the mansion with tears streaming down her face.  Knowing her, she had fled to her favorite area sanctuary, a tiny Catholic prayer chapel a few blocks away.  If she didn't find her there, however, Huliana had no idea where to look next.  In her blind hurry to get to the church, she came quickly around a corner without looking ahead.  She crashed into someone.

Huliana and the boy tumbled to the pavement.  In a flash, he disentangled himself and stood, spinning into a fighting stance.  Huliana blinked.  The boy's enormous brown braid spun too, whipping through the air to hit him in the face.  Looking down at her, he pretended not to notice.  She looked up at him quizzically.

"I'm sorry, uh, sir.  I wasn't watching where I was going."

The boy relaxed his stance, odd purple eyes twinkling, and extended his hand to help her up.  "No harm done.  Where are you in such a hurry to get to?"  Huliana looked at him warily, but accepted his help and got to her feet.

"Well, umm…" she trailed off hopefully.  He stared for a moment, uncomprehending, then started.

"Oh!  I'm Duo."  He beamed at her winningly.

"Right.  Duo, then.  I was just headed to the chapel over on Calle del Sol."  She figured there was no harm in telling him that.  "Oh, and my name's Huliana."  _Don't call me Hula if you want to live._

With a false note of casual interest, he asked, "Oh, are you religious, then?"

She shook her head.  "No, I'm going to meet a friend.  Listen, um, Duo.  It was nice to meet you, but I really ought to be going now…"  Duo wilted, then brightened.

"Oh, that's alright.  I was headed about that way, too.  I could walk with you."  She looked at him skeptically.  "Can't be too careful in this town, you know."  Huliana shook her head, laughing, and set off again for the church.  As they walked, he continued his effort to make conversation.  "I was raised Catholic.  Never really got into it, though."  He looked away.  Huliana decided to change the subject.  She saw that he was wearing an apron and name tag.

"So, do you work at Albertson's?"

Duo looked down.  He saw the apron and blushed.  "No, I just steal their clothes."  He beamed at her.  "Actually, I just started working there about a week ago.  It's not a career or anything.  I'm kind of…between jobs."

Huliana stifled a laugh.  She nodded in a way she hoped looked sympathetic, and said, "Yeah, the job market's not what it used to be.  Especially around here."  She looked back toward the Strip.  "Tourism never really picked back up after…you know.  September 11th."  Now it was Duo's turn to look around awkwardly.

"So, what do you do?"

Huliana answered without really thinking, then regretted it.  "Oh!  I've got a Forensic Science degree from the University of Colorado."  She wanted to smack herself for giving that away so flippantly.  She thought she saw Duo's eyes cloud over for a moment, but then it was gone.  He stepped away from here, throwing his hands up in a mock-defensive gesture.

"Whatever I did, I didn't do it!  Honest!"

Huliana laughed, which only provoked Duo to beam at her even brighter.

"So what's a Forensic Scientist doing in Las Vegas?  Do you work for the police department?"

Huliana drew in a slow breath, then said, carefully, "Not exactly."  Duo nodded knowingly.

"'Nuff said."

Huliana nearly doubled over with relief.  There were plenty of private investigators in Las Vegas, and though few needed much in the way of forensic science, he had probably assumed she worked for one of them.  That was very good, as she saw it.  Anyone in Las Vegas who knew anything about the Night World would have heard of Thierry.  Moreover, their association could lose her, or worse, Thierry, some rather important friends.  Since Duo seemed to have opted for companionable silence, she took the opportunity to study him for a while.  Besides the fighter's reflexes that he had exhibited when she had crashed into him earlier, he moved with a flippant, predatory grace.  His eyes were an odd shade of purple, but besides that, his eyes were dilated beyond the necessary human level for the twilit scene in front of them.  From these she deduced that he was probably some type of shapeshifter, whose animal form hunted at twilight, possibly with the sun in its eyes.  She watched him as unobtrusively as possible.  The way he turned his head to give her a quizzical look was very birdlike.  _Definitely a bird…  Suddenly, the quizzical look processed in her mind, and Huliana looked away.  __He's also kind of cute, in a silly way…_

She realized that they had reached the Calle del Sol, and that she needed to turn.  She looked up at Duo.

"Well, this is my turn.  It was nice to meet you."  She smiled at him almost flirtatiously.

"Ok!  I hope I see you around sometime!"  His smile was very flirtatious.  She giggled a little, waving as he turned to walk away.  Suddenly remembering Talia, she turned and half-ran all the way to the church.

A/N: Just so everyone knows, we do have the next two chapters written, but will not post them until some one reviews. In other words: please, please, please, please, please, please, please, _please_ review or we will hold the next chapters ransoms. 


	5. Chapter 3

Yay!  I finished the chapter!  A few things to keep in mind:

1. We still don't own _Gundam Wing or __Night World_

2. We're still broke.

3. If you're reading the _Night World series, be advised that this contains some spoilers._

Enjoy!  Also, PLEASE REVIEW!!!!

Thanks.

Chapter 3

Huliana woke up with a headache and bleary eyes.  Groaning, she turned to her clock radio, which read 7:45 and was playing some horrifyingly cheerful tune from the 1960's.  She smacked the button to shut it up, then rolled back over in bed.  Why did Talia insist on running off at ungodly hours of the night?  At least church seemed to have calmed her down, though.  Head spinning, Huliana stood up and resolutely began going through the motions of getting ready for the day.

She finally emerged from her sumptuous guest room and found her way down the hall.  Her feet sank into the lush carpet.  Still half asleep, she drifted down a curving staircase, clinging to the elegant mahogany railing for dear life.  Blinking the restless night from her eyes, she walked under the daunting arched ceiling of a banquet hall, fighting the smeared rainbows her eyes stuck to the crystal chandelier.  Its intricate structure dazzled her barely conscious mind, and she vaguely remembered hearing about the protective spells it contained.  She kept walking, finally entering a smaller dining room.  Its marble floor and carved oak furnishings seemed tastefully understated when compared with the rest of the mansion.  A few servants flitted about the room, refilling pitchers and platters of breakfast.  The assembled diners were quite a sight.  At one end of the table, Talia absentmindedly pushed some scrambled eggs around her plate, eyes focused on but not really watching Ash cajole Mary-Lynette into eating faster.  Next to her sat the three most important people in the room, the Wild Powers, who nervously sampled each dish only after everyone else had tasted it and not become ill.  Across from them were three vampires and a shape-shifter who had been assigned to guard them for the day.  These ate with gusto, cracking jokes about being overqualified food tasters.  They were egging on Keller, who had just quipped that their carefree behavior made her miss being expendable.  At the far end of the table sat Lady Hannah and Aradia, both of whom were trying to engage Lady Relena in conversation.  She only sat regally upright in her chair, sipping her tea and giving terse, one- or two-word answers.  As Huliana took the seat next to Talia, Hannah gave up and turned to her other adopted daughter, who was sitting in a high chair behind her.  Huliana was transfixed by her complicated efforts to get her to take a bite of egg yolk baby food.  Talia, obviously preoccupied, didn't seem to have noticed her.  Huliana didn't mind, and simply ate her breakfast in silence.  She hardly noticed when Relena and Aradia dropped their voices below the happy noises of Hannah's adopted toddler.  When Relena pushed her chair back to rise, the whole room went silent, and everyone tried to discretely turn and look.  Relena put down her teacup with a clink and turned to Aradia.

"I understand the risk.  But I will not ignore my duty to my people!"

With that, she turned and left in a dignified huff.  Huliana looked up sleepily.

"What happened to her?"  Talia looked up, scandalized at the disrespectful question about Lord Thierry's adopted daughter.  Ash just shook his head.  Mary-Lynette was still looking at the door.  The Wild Powers and their bodyguards made hasty excuses and left the room, carefully using exits that would not take them too close to Relena.  The toddler screamed, and Hannah busied herself in attempts to clean the squirming face and bib.  She looked worried, and kept glancing at the door.  Huliana was just about to ask Talia what was going on when two more bodyguards burst through the doors, followed closely by Lord Thierry.  Scooping up the toddler, Hannah ran to his side and put her hand on his shoulder, looking at him with concern.  He took a deep breath, taking in the faces as though totaling their thoughts.

"Ash, Talia, Huliana…"  He nodded to each person in turn, then to Aradia, "my Lady.  I will need to see you in the library.  Elrick," he nodded to a servant, who snapped to attention.  "Please bring the others to the library as well."  Elrick bowed slightly and strode purposefully away.  Thierry softened slightly, turning to his soulmate.  "Hannah, could you put Mindy down for her nap?  You need to hear this, too."  He considered.  "Mary-Lynette, please watch Mindy for me.  She shouldn't be too much trouble."  She looked up at Ash, upset at being left out of the meeting.  He gave her a look of mock pity and patted her head before running off.  She stuck out her tongue at his back.  _I heard that!_  Thierry strode back out of the room, bodyguards in tow.  Mary-Lynette watched him go, shaking her head at the injustice of it all.  Sighing, she took the squirming toddler from Lady Hannah and walked out of the room.  Talia and Huliana seemed to notice each other for the first time.  They hadn't even noticed when Aradia left.

A/N: Thank you so much. Told you we would update if you reviewed. Yes we know it's cruel, but we live for reviews….Ahhhh!

Review Responses: 

Cough: Thank you for reviewing. We are very sorry if it is confusing. If you have any specific questions, we will endeavor to answer them. 

Symee-sama: As to the confusion, like I said do you have any specific questions? As for the short chapters, they will hopefully get longer as we become better used to writing together. To date this is the only the second joint work, the first being a very short one-act play for school. Thank you.


	6. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

            The atmosphere in the small room was charged- after all, it wasn't often that this particular group was called together. For that matter, this would be the first such meeting that Huliana and Talia were to attend. Their confusion at being attended in this meeting was evident, as they kept shooting bewildered glances at each other as they entered the room. 

            They moved to the far end of the room and sat on the sumptuous leather couch next to Ash, their current favorite torture victim. He smiled at them in mock anxiety, moved as far towards the end of the couch as was possible, and turned his attention to the leader of Circle Daybreak. 

            Said leader was currently pacing the length of the library. As soon as it became clear that everyone was present, he paused in his pacing, opened his mouth as if to say something, closed it again, and resumed his pacing. He quieted only when Hannah reached out and placed a restraining hand on his arm. 

            "There has been a threat to my daughter's life."

            The words hung in the air and it was a tossup as to what surprised the assembly more: the news of the threat or the unusual bluntness from the nearly lifetime politician. 

            "What, Mindy?" Huliana's clueless question echoed in the shocked silence. Talia hid her face in her hands in embarrassment, Ash snickered, and the rest of the room alternated between astonished looks and outright indignation. Talia hissed through her teeth "Relena" and returned her face to her hands while Huliana blushed in mortification. 

            After things settled back down, Thierry was all business, though when it came time for assignments, he did look rather dubiously at the two of them before he soled out the jobs. 

            "Rashel. As Relena still insists on going through with all of her meetings and campaign appearances despite the threat I want at least two new bodyguards hired and assigned to her day and night-she goes nowhere unaccompanied. I leave you in charge of security for my daughter-consider yourself off Wild Power duty. You will have to find new hires, though- I want everyone else to stay where they are." Rashel nodded, though Talia thought she looked rather paler than before. 

            "Aradia. Can you head up the team of witches investigating the origins of the threat?" At her nod he continued. "Good, then you will get the note for say… the first week. At which point you will trade with Huliana and Talia who will be using their backgrounds in forensic science to determine the origin using the envelope. I hope you two can at least handle that?" At this both shrunk even further in their seats and nodded. 

            "Ash. You're on information duty. Spread the rumors and gather them. We are in great need of the Mansion's biggest gossip." Ash nodded, though he looked a little miffed at being called a gossip. He was a "gatherer of intelligence" and a "distributor of misinformation." 

            Everyone in the room seemed to be waiting for something. Thierry glared at them, his turbulent emotions barely restrained, "Well, what are you waiting for?" he snapped, "Get to work." 

And they did.

***

Ok, two short chapters.  We're sorry!  It was really more of a situation where I wrote one chapter, Jeslyn wrote the other, and I couldn't find it.  I found it now!  Yay!

Anyway, please please PLEASE be patient with us.  We will have a longer chapter soon, and hope to make this less confusing!


	7. Chapter 5

**Night Wing**

**By**

**Jeslyn Nighthawk and Besa-sama**

Disclaimer: We own neither _Night World nor __Gundam_ Wing._ We are just borrowing them for our amusement _

Chapter 4

            "'WHAT_, MINDY?!' " Talia shouted at her partner. "Not only did you embarrass me to death – you discredited us to every person in that room! Thierry was already unsatisfied with the results of our research so far; now he will be waiting for us to fail at this as an excuse to sack us!" Talia took several deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself._

            "Sack me anyway," Huliana mumbled, "He still has a use for you – what with those visions and all."

            "We need the money for our research, and the cooperation of the vampires," Talia sighed, "We need Thierry for both of those things. Oh well," Talia sighed again and ran a nervous hand through her hair. "At least you have some experience in forensics. Where do we start?"

            "The obvious: we look for fingerprints, saliva samples on the envelope. When we get the letter, I make a few calls and get a profile if I can, and we look for the same sort of physical evidence as on the envelope – hopefully matching fingerprints. Though I doubt we'll be that lucky." Obviously Huliana felt she was on familiar and therefore safer ground in this arena. 

In the long run, politics were really more Talia's thing. It was what made them such good friends and partners: although both were brilliant scientists, Huliana took the lead in the lab, and Talia dealt with the people. It just worked better that way. The incident in Thierry's, library this morning proved why that particular dynamic was necessary. Huliana was a geek and therefore destined to be dense.

Talia sighed one more time, looked around the comforting sterility of their lab, and said, "Well then, I guess we should get to work."

***

            Rashel looked at the rather harassed looking vampire in front of her and did her best to ignore the impulse to curl up on the floor and cry, scream or otherwise pull her hair out in extreme frustration. This was the third guard Relena had managed to chase off this week, and she was sitting there in the corner _laughing! _

            Rashel was going to kill her. Forget mysterious threats or terrorists. Rashel was going to strangle that… that…that _brat!_ herself, with her own two very competent hands. 

            "I cannot work with her!" He was yelling at her, "She purposely endangered her own life and has made mine a living _hell_ since I got here. I quit. Find someone with nerves of steel, or a much better sense of humor than mine 'cause otherwise you will have one dead princess on your hands." He gave Rashel one last baleful look with bloodshot eyes and stormed out the front door of the Mansion. 

            Rashel turned the full effect of her formidable death glare on said princess, and waited for her to wither like any sensible halfling would. "Are you happy?" Rashel asked, obviously ignoring Relena's snickers, "Do you want to get yourself killed? Is that what you are after? As a halfling you make a great target for fanatics you know. And if you keep chasing off your guards they will have plenty of opportunities to get rid of you. I personally don't care if you have a death wish- But I'll be damned if you will get the chance to act out any twisted fantasies of martyrdom on my watch!" At least Relena seemed to be paying attention now. Her eyes were slightly wider too. _Maybe I scared her? Rashel contemplated this a moment while continuing to loom. _Good. Maybe she'll stop risking her life for stupid reasons._ "I will have new guards hired and assigned to you by tomorrow morning. If you scare these off, I will walk. I don't care what your father threatens to do to me; I refuse to have any part in protecting a spoiled little brat who refuses to listen to sense just because she happens to be half-vampire and therefore slightly harder to kill than most. Do I make myself clear?" This last was little more than a growl. _

            Relena nodded, smart enough to look ashamed, worrying her lower lip with her teeth. 

            "Good. I'll see you in the morning then." And Rashel walked away before she was forced to make good on her private threat to kill the spoiled daughter of her good friend and boss. 

TBC

***

A/N: Once again we apologize for the wait, and any confusing elements. If you have any questions feel free to leave them in a review. Jeslyn would also like to point out that if the readers of this fic should withhold reviews, she will be forced to make sure the chapters are withheld as well. 


	8. Chapter 6

Huliana sighed and picked up the next phial.  Taking a pipette in her left hand and lifting the test tube in her right, she precisely deposited a single rounded drop of clear liquid into the tube.  The contents stayed clear.  Putting down the pipette, she impatiently flicked the phial with one chewed fingernail.  The color did not change.  She hadn't expected it to, but felt it was worth a try.  She delicately set the phial on the counter next to rows upon rows of identical phials, all containing equally, disappointingly clear liquid.  Two weeks worth of new threats and envelopes – well, half of what they had received, anyway, as the other half were currently under magical investigation – were stacked haphazardly in the corner, each missing the same carefully extracted corner of adhesive.  The test was looking for the presence of saliva.  Unfortunately, Relena's terrorist hadn't made any of the most obvious mistakes, which meant no saliva, no fingerprints, and, in general, nothing to show for hours and hours of repetitive, boring, expensive tests.  Now it was time for data entry.

Pulling on some medium, powdered, latex-free exam gloves, Huliana gently extracted a threat letter from the pile and sat down at her computer.

**I will kill you, relena.**

It seemed redundant to type that.  It was all they ever said.  _Moving on._

**Bold, Arial, 10 pt, black.**

**Centered.**

**No fluids.  **

**No marks, including figerprints.**

**Creased in perfect thirds.**

**20 lb. epson printer paper, white.**

The next two descriptions were nearly identical.  The type of paper was different each time, as well as the originating post office on the envelope, but nothing else changed.  Huliana's mind began to wander.  She wanted a better job.

_I'm overqualified.  Really.  Here I am working for the oldest living vampire and his "reincarnated" soulmate.  Fighting their stupid secret war._

With no disrespect to Hannah for believing herself to be the young Old Soul Thierry had killed in his younger years, Huliana didn't know what she thought about reincarnation.  It seemed ridiculous.  But then, the whole idea of a living creature that could only be harmed with wood, healed just about instantly, and yet was incapable of producing functional hemoglobin was just silly.  Even so, here she was.

_I mean, it's not like I don't like saving the world and everything: equality is good, saving humans from people who want to enslave them is good, it's just that for once in my life I'd like a normal job._

Then she sighed.  There was no way for a "criminal" to get a normal job in criminal justice.  And Huliana was a criminal.

*    *    *

Only a few months ago, she and Talia had been the youngest graduate students ever to attend the University of Colorado at Boulder.  Huliana had been home schooled, rocketing along as fast as her love of knowledge could carry her, while Talia had attended an experimental accelerated school, designing her own curriculum from the time she was five.  Thinking of this, Huliana shook her head at the under-funded public school system that would inspire such divergence.  Colorado had one thing going for it, though: it had a resident exchange program with the University of Hawaii, allowing the precocious Huliana to study in one of the best biology programs in the United States.  There, she had met Talia, as the two dodged the media circus surrounding the entry of not one, but two 14-year-old high school graduates.  The two were even more of an intellectual force together than apart, and had dabbled in just about everything, from liberal arts to quantum physics to Pascal and C++.  Their real flair was for biochemistry and molecular biology, and C.U.'s cancer research teams had rushed to take advantage of their skills.  Since they were young and "inexperienced", they had been given only the most menial jobs, and their superiors rarely gave the girls credit for their ideas.  With stars in their eyes and the passion of youth, the two pressed for any opportunity to let their research really take off, convinced that someone needed to make a difference in the world, and, young and reckless, they seemed to conclude that it had to be them.

Boulder, as a typical college town, was full of just the sort of rash idealists Huliana and Talia needed.  Eventually, they wound up joining with a few graduate students (the proper age, of course) who had proven themselves trustworthy ("Never trust anyone over 30.") and been given free access to some of the smaller cancer labs.  Without the bonds of petty jealousy over publications (or FDA approval), their research progressed at an unprecedented rate, and Huliana and Talia were soon publishing revolutionary papers on the use of recombinant DNA in the treatment and prevention of several types of familial cancer.  After finishing her Bachelor's Degree in Biochemistry, Huliana decided she wanted to go into criminal justice.  Forensic science was the natural choice.  Talia, with her BS in Chemistry, decided to pursue a Master's degree in Molecular Biology.  Unfortunately, their impossibly bright future was about to be extinguished.  Living young and naïve with older, liberal, male students led to the inevitable adulteration of the girls' ideals.  They joined an on-campus protest.

It seemed harmless enough at first: the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA, which seemed to most people a great way to charge hackers with serious crimes, seemed to the members of the Open Source Revolution as silly as banning scissors because a mattress salesman might use them to cut off the "do not remove" tags on his merchandise.  As with too many C.U. civil protests, traditional enmity between certain students and certain officers of the peace had worked the crowd into a frenzy, resulting in arrests.  Any hope Huliana had of a career in criminal justice was officially over, and her nearly completed degree was useless.

*   *   *

Huliana sighed deeply, and typed her third

**I will kill you, Relena**

                                                                      of the evening.  Her arrest, the trial, the bogus charges of vandalism and creating a public disturbance – it was all ancient history to her now, but that didn't stop her from regretting what had happened next.

*   *   *

Whatever Talia thought at the time, Huliana didn't know.  Immature and unused to failure, she allowed her new criminal record to bring her life to a near halt.  She despondently finished the last few months of her Forensic Science degree and got a job at Severn Trent laboratories via the recommendation of one of her "partners in crime" at C.U.  While Huliana skulked about, watching auto-titration machines with a pouty attitude, Talia began again, working for her teaching certificate.

Then the visions came.  Talia was in the middle of class – Huliana, who had been rather despondent at the time, couldn't remember which – when she had suddenly become completely unaware of the room around her, and came to herself yelling frantically about keeping the boy with the cold cobalt eyes away from the halfling.  Naturally, the school staff had decided she was sick, and sent her back to her apartment with a cold pack and an admonition to keep cool and drink plenty of fluids.  She had a few more episodes, but as they were outside of class and witnessed only by citizens of Boulder, who were used to such things, the school officially chose to ignore them.  However, Circle Daybreak took an interest after one of her dazed, half-voluntary predictions was fulfilled – especially because it concerned Relena.  Under the not entirely false pretense of funding their continued research, Thierry had brought Talia and Huliana to Vegas.

 *   *   *


	9. Chapter 7

**Night Wing **

**By **

**Jeslyn Nighthawk and Besa-sama**

A/N: Things will be rough for awhile as we adjust to the rigors of college life and the fact that we now live in opposite ends of the country. 

Disclaimer: We don't own anything. Except for the textbooks which just cost our savings. 

Chapter 7

Thierry sat like a coiled spring at the head of an expansive conference table, surrounded by some of the best strategic and political minds currently at his disposal.  Though these were people he usually trusted and sometimes respected, and though all of them already knew everything he was telling them, none of them was offering any feasible ideas.  "Hands-on management" was becoming positively aggravating.  He was just not getting through to these people.

            "Look.  Our situation is very simple.  I have recently lost the services of Relena's entire honor guard."  Thierry thought he heard a soft snort at the phrase "honor guard", but as he couldn't determine whom it came from, he continued.  "I need new operatives, and I need them now.  I cannot relocate anyone at this time, and I have run out of options from my resources in the manor."

            Near the far end of the table, Thea Harman winced.  She hated it when people were called "resources".  As Thierry's eyes scanned the room, each person carefully avoided making eye contact.  That only upset him more.  Finally, he controlled his voice and spoke, careful to show only annoyance, and not the fierce anxiety and frustration he felt when dealing with matters concerning his adopted daughter.

            "All right.  We have no choice but to scour the city for new operatives.  With the economy as it is, this place is crawling with unemployed butlers and security personnel.  Bring me the best.  Bring me someone loyal.  If you can't do that, get me someone who can be bought.  We have no time for delaying and debating!  I do not need to remind you of the importance of the upcoming elections, nor of my daughter's importance in securing for us a new and powerful alliance."  Seeing his allies and advisors cringe, Thierry relented.  He paused for breath, then continued in a softer voice, "Look, I know Relena is impossible.  Please remember that she's just a little girl playing princess, and is not yet used to the responsibilities of her position.  All I ask is that we deal with this matter swiftly and efficiently, so that we can all get back to work on what matters.  We've got the end of the world to deal with, and we don't need to be bogged down in meetings over a simple matter of personnel."  At this last, Thierry looked up with a rare smile.  Thea looked up at him, wondering at the change that Hannah had wrought in him.  His sad, fiery eyes shone with just a touch of hope.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

            A week had passed since this meeting, and now Heero stood outside the Black Rose manor with a rare smile.  He and Duo had just been briefed on their new duties as Relena's personal bodyguards.  Of course, he had made sure that every other applicant knew that this job was _his, and that they would have him to answer to if he didn't get it.  Every single one.  The tiny smile disappeared as he walked away.  His target was Thierry, and by tomorrow morning, he would be working in his house.  This was almost too easy._

            Unnoticed, a masterpiece of pink, yellow, and gold followed the sun down the sky and slipped behind the horizon with a graceful purple bow.  

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

A/N: It's short I know, and entirely written by Besa. I wanted to add some, but mostly was only able to do some beta-reading. This has become decidedly more difficult since we moved to opposite coasts. More to come soon I promise. Please review or I won't post it. I mean this, Besa might, but as I have the next chapter, that might be hard. Anyway thanks for reading. Oh, and we will be moving this to the Night World archive in one week, so if you want to continue reading it, please mark this change. 

Ja ne

Jeslyn and Besa


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